Damp homes making kids sick

Children living in deprived areas of Nelson are much more likely to be hospitalised from illnesses due to cold, damp and overcrowded homes, new data shows.

The analysis has sparked calls for greater focus on lifting standards of housing across the region.

On average, 20 children die and 30,000 are hospitalised every year from preventable, housing-related diseases like asthma, pneumonia and bronchiolitis, health statistics compiled by the New Zealand Herald show.

In Nelson, they show that poor areas that have high deprivation and low incomes and lots of rental housing, suffer the most – suburbs like Toi Toi, Tahunanui and Stoke. Respiratory conditions in particular – like bronchiolitis and asthma – are causing more hospitalisations each year.

“The reality is that we have people in housing in this city that is not insulat’ed, has condensation and damp,” says Nelson Marlborough Health’s chief medical officer and pediatrician Nick Baker.

“Really we need to do what we can to make these houses healthier,”

Toi Toi, which marks an 8 out of 10 on the deprivation scale, had almost 400 child hospitalisations due to poverty related illness since 2000.

However, it only has about 400 children living there, according to the 2013 census. Tahunanui, a 9 on the deprivation scale, has had 410 despite having only 400 children living in the area.

By comparison, the Tahunanui Hills, a 3 on the deprivation scale only had about 200 hospitalisations despite having about 400 children living there.

The area of Isel Park in Stoke has had almost 700 despite only having about 600 children living there, according to the 2013 census.